My rooster named satan, I mean Rocky....questions?

[Reinbeau]

My big BO roo turned mean, I couldn't deal with him at all, so off with his head. I have an EE roo now who got a little feisty, I'm not afraid of him, though, so I caught him and carried him around the house a few times - first time back to the coop he started carrying on, struggling in my arms, so I told him nope, not yet....second time around the house we went back to the coop and he hung his head in defeat. That was over a month ago, and I haven't had any trouble with him since. No, I didn't hang him upside down, I think that can really hurt them, if not kill them. You do have to teach him who is boss, though. As others have noted, that'll just teach him you are boss - it won't help your four year old with him, unfortunately.

 

[Shannonwbl]

Quote:
Davaroo - I have 12 hens and would like to get a gentle roo for leadership, protection etc. I am concerned about aggression though. What do you mean yard scrubs and volunteers? Is that an "infertile" roo? If so that sounds like what we need as I don't care about breeding.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
I'm going to agree with David on this. I reformed my former alpha roo and my current rooster gives all GROWN humans a wide berth. However, we have no young children to worry about and when the 3 y.o. grandson visits my rooster is kept out of the fenced yard. The rooster has never shown any aggression AT ALL, but I'm not about to take the chance with the GS's well-being or eyesight. The GS may inadvertantly do something to set a mature rooster trying to protect his hens off.
Young children and mature roosters don't mix, IMO.

 

[Judy]

Aggressiveness of this level is often if not always genetic; it is all about hormones. My attitude is, if you can't be a nice guy, you go to the freezer. There are plenty of nice roos in the world. I want my flock to reproduce itself, and this is not a trait I want included.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
Davaroo - I have 12 hens and would like to get a gentle roo for leadership, protection etc. I am concerned about aggression though. What do you mean yard scrubs and volunteers? Is that an "infertile" roo? If so that sounds like what we need as I don't care about breeding.

The only infertile male chicken is called a "capon." They are the result of a minor surgical procedure whereby the testes are removed. This is performed at an early age. In essence, they are manufactured eunuchs. We never had them, that I knew of.

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On the WI farms of my youth, the farm flock was one of two things:

1. An afterthought, just left to run and live hand to mouth
2. Carefully controlled and bred for purpose

My family followed both practices. Their "good birds" were kept in a separate area removed from the other farm activities and were carefully bred. This is because they made money on the eggs and breeding of them.

However, in any program of controlled breeding, there are those subjects that are selected out. Some of these "culls" weren't faulty enough to warrant the hatchet, so they were allowed to run the yard. They fed off the leavings of the cattle and pigs and what my grandmother tossed them. As I recall, they were mostly females and this is where most of the eating eggs came from.

Random males that weren't destined for the breed pens could look forward to the soup pot at the end of their short life. But occasionally, they managed to breed with the yard hens before going to the chopping block. Their offspring were the "volunteers" I mentioned.

Basically, there were two flocks: one that was carefully controlled to be top-notch and which made money. The other was the free running flock that fed the farmer. They had a ramshackle coop behind one of the sheds, but that was it.

"Mean" roos didn't exist - because the notion of a "mean roo" didn't exist. Those males that wanted to bow up and get aggressive were handled in a simple fashion, typically with a shoe up their a**.

This was a working farm, run by work hardened folks. A flogging cockerel was more of a humorous moment in the day than any kind of threat. If you managed to get spurred or scratched by one, well... call it an 'occupational hazard'. Believe me, there were far worse things that could happen.
You washed it off with hard brown soap, dabbed on some kerosene and went back to work.

But I distinctly recall the admonition to keep away from the breeding chickens (always shouted in Norwegian, first, followed by heavily accented English!).

This was because they didn't want me doing something stupid and messing up their efforts - and the cocks in those pens were rough.
We're talking huge, mature males in full breed form, kept with breeding females. These guys stood as tall as a child and were a real Force of Nature. To borrow a phrase from "Jurassic Park":

"When they looked at you, you knew they were sizing you up."
A small kid caught in with them was definitely in harms way.

The yard scrub cockerels, for their part, didn't last long enough to be much of a threat to anyone.

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For these simple farm folk, natural vigor was more important than manners when it came to roosters. The farm animals, like the farmers, had to be able to withstand the rigors of life on a WI farm and breed true to form. This meant tough, vigorous and productive were the qualities most desired. In their eyes, the surest way to ensure that was for the fittest males to survive, so they could carry that to their offspring. If they were what we call "aggressive," that was part of it.

Many of us, on the other hand, want mild mannered chicken-pets that somehow manage to retain vigor in the bargain. We get rid of them because they are "mean," yet still expect to have top notch males that can compete, breed and lead their flocks. I'll wager such as these wouldn't stand a chance against the cocks from my grandparents farm.

My ancestors knew that such compromises led to less profitable results and, ultimately, to a weakening of the whole balance. So they didn't tolerate it.

I, personally, side with them.

P.S. The old texts NEVER mention the subject of "mean roosters" when speaking of males or breeding. It is wholly a New Age concern.

 

[Shannonwbl]

Davroo -

Good stuff! Sounds like a book in the making - really.

I have and train horses, so I totally understand the idea of asserting my dominance. I just have a more limited experience with chickens and have heard awful stories of sneak attacks. I can deal with 1200 lbs of horse because they are not as stealthy and I have more experience there. I really would like to add a roo and I am getting some good tips from this thread. Walk proud and carry a rake!

 

[angelib1]

I had one of those 5 yrs ago he killed my big pet lt. bramaha roo, he had to go. accidently got another this year had to put him down to was mean to everything.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
'Pretty much sums it up.

 

[accidentalchickenfarmer]

I was, and still am, in your shoes. We have a rooster named Petey who we have had since he was about 3 months old. He was so nice until one day he became territorial and has attacked my 3 year old, my 4 year old, my 7 year old and myself. He attacked my husband until my husband picked him up by the neck...not enough to hurt him, just enough to exhibit dominance. Petey is no longer aggressice to my husband, but he still remains dominant over the rest of us. Out of nowhere he attacked my daughter (7 year old) while she was out in the garden the other day, leaving her with scratches on her legs. Fortunately that was all.

It's a tough situation, but this is not something that can be controlled. It's just a rooster thing. We have come to the conclusion that we need to find Petey a new home.

Just wanted to let you know you are not alone. Hope that helps in making a decision for your flock - both your birds and people.

 

[digitS']

No, you are not alone but you may be able to rid yourself of the problem.

I gave a hen or 2 to a neighbor. As "payment," they gave me a cockerel from one of my hens. She was a Black Australorp and had mated with my EE. The little rooster was all black, with a beard. I called him Pirate, at first. Later, I called him Satan.

When the hormones got the better of him, he turned very aggressive, mostly with the hens. I took Satan back to the people who gave him to me.

It has been many years since I've had a rooster. Other than their beauty, I don't much miss 'em and a flock of hens, doesn't really need 'em. I realize that they are protective but if something is actually attacking the hens, Mr. Roo is very likely to get himself killed. I'm not sure if that is "protecting" the hens - more like "sacrificing oneself." What's going to happen the 2nd time the coyote, raccoon, or whatever comes around after he's developed a taste for chicken?

As far as a "gentlemanly" roo - my EE roo was a good bird, it was just his offspring that crossed the line. About the best roo I had was a Hamburg. He was just over half the size of the dual-purpose hens he looked after and that may have made a difference in how he treated them. He essentially ignored me . . . while I couldn't stop looking at that beautiful rooster. I liked everything about him. Gabe was a keeper.

Steve

edited to add: I once had another neighbor who was spurred in his knee. It swelled up to about twice normal size. He missed a few days of work. I wonder how he explained that to his boss.